When was the last time you looked at the child support you receive or owe? There are many reasons to take another look at child support, whether you pay it or receive it. The most frequent reason is that one party’s income has changed, either up or down. There may also have been changes in the living situation of your children. Maybe one child is now living with the other parent, or is attending college.

There have also been changes in the law governing the calculation of child support. If you had fewer than 25 percent of the total overnights with each child, you paid the full amount of child support, without any credit for the money that is spent or saved when the children are with the “non-primary” parent. There is a graduated parenting time credit if the non-primary parent spends 25 percent or more of the overnights. Each parent’s number of overnights with each child is calculated, which more accurately reflects the relative amount of money that each parent spends directly on the children. If you have standard parenting time, (i.e., alternating weekends, four weeks in the summer, and alternating holidays) you have the children at least 25 perent of the overnights, and are entitled to a credit in the amount of child support owed.

This new rule can create some difficulty in calculating child support when a child is attending college. Once a child reach 18 years of age, you cannot have “custody” of the child nor can you have court-ordered parenting time. Under the new guidelines, the number of overnights with each parent must be put into the calculations – and this cannot be done for a child attending college and receiving child support. There are also the costs of college in addition to the cost of living for the child, which can cause the child support for that child to increase.

Although there is more uncertainty as to the appropriate amount of child support, the child support of a child attending school can more accurately reflect actual expenses.